By Taylor Smith |Photos courtesy of @warbyparker

Trend setting eyeglass company Warby Parker is making its debut in the Garden State. Customers can now have fun trying on the company’s affordable and stylish frames at 126 Central Avenue in downtown Westfield. The bright, airy, and spacious store is adorned with book-centric murals designed by Keith Negly. 

This location is an addition to Warby Parker storefront locations in New York City and Greenwich, Conn., and other recent New Jersey openings at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus and 538 Washington Street in Hoboken. 

The largely e-commerce-based company offers eyeglass frames for all ages starting at just $95. No appointments are necessary. Customers can swing by anytime to try on frames, browse the full collection, and get styling help from advisers. 

Before visiting the store, it is recommended that patrons bring their current prescription (if they want to buy prescription glasses). Measurements and adjustments for eyeglass orders can be completed in-store, along with returns and exchanges (there is a 30-day, hassle-free return or exchange policy whether or not the glasses were purchased in-store or online). Of note are the miniaturized versions of their classic and eclectic frames for children. In addition to eyeglasses, Warby Parker sells sunglasses, fashion-forward accessories, and even monocles!

Warby Parker’s Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program has resulted in the distribution of more than four million pairs of glasses to those in need around the world. This program is actually the source of inspiration behind the founding of the company. Launched in 2010 by Philadelphia residents Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, David Gilboa, and Jeffrey Raider, the company was initially a project launched by the Venture Initiation Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where the founders were all students. In 2011, Warby Parker raised its first round of funding totaling $2.5 million. As of 2015, the company was valued at $1.2 billion.

If you can’t make it to one of its locations, Warby Parker’s online store allows customers to choose five frames from the website, which they receive at home approximately five days from the purchase date. Customers can then try on all five frames at home, choosing which to keep and returning the unwanted ones free of charge. Frames are designed in-house and are sold directly to the customer. They also order their own materials (the majority from Italy) and have the glasses manufactured at the same upscale factories as the designer label glasses sold in department stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. This design and execution model has enabled the company to keep their production costs low and offer the majority of their glasses at a price point of $100 (select frames go as low as $95). 

Affordability doesn’t mean that the company has not been embraced by the mainstream fashion world. In fact, Warby Parker sees itself as a cutting-edge fashion brand. This design-minded identity means that you don’t have to sacrifice looking good for a low price.

To browse the current collections, visit  www.warbyparker.com.